SUPERMARKET giant Tesco could lose its licence at a city centre store after staff were caught red handed selling alcohol to teenagers.

SUPERMARKET giant Tesco could lose its licence at a city centre store after staff were caught red handed selling alcohol to teenagers.

Representatives for the Tesco store on Hurst Street will face a licensing panel tomorrow after staff repeatedly sold bottles of wine and vodka to minors.

Plain clothes police and trading standards officers sent two youngsters, aged 15 and 16, into the busy Tesco store on October 24 last year, where they purchased a bottle of red wine with no questions asked.

Immediately after the sale, the under-cover squad slapped an #80 fine and a fixed penalty notice on the staff member who had served the teenagers.

The duty manager was also advised about checking the ages of people who looked under the age of 21.

But when the undercover officers returned to the same store just four days later, staff sold a bottle of Smirnoff Ice, a vodka alcoholic pop drink, to 16-year-old test purchasers, again without asking any questions.

West Midlands Police and representatives from the Birmingham Safeguarding Children Board will be pushing to suspend the store's alcohol licence for three months, at the licensing sub-committee meeting at Birmingham City Council House.

Chief Supt Debbie Harrod said in a report: "It is clear that the operation and management of the premises has fallen below that expected of competent operators since test purchasers have been sold alcohol on two occasions in quick succession.

"This indicates that management at the premises is inadequate and the designated premises supervisor is not meeting his or her responsibilities in relation to the licensing objectives."

Some of the other options available to the licensing panel include revoking the licence, modifying the conditions of the licence, issuing a warning letter or removing the supervisor.